In recent years, there has been a heightened sense of awareness concerning the need to protect the environment from hazardous and toxic wastes. Due to strict regulation of chemical compounds that may pose a threat to human health or the environment, a need has developed to ensure that chemical contaminants do not enter the environment from such sources as leaking pipes or other industrial structures. One of the problems associated with containing spills from such industrial structures has been the need to design a leak-proof containment device to prevent the escape of contaminants, and to provide a means for repairing the leaking structure in an environmentally safe housing. This is particularly true with respect to crude oil pipelines used to convey oil from an oil well site to the refinery. The same considerations also are important with respect to the transmission of chemicals from one site to another.
One example of a device that can be used to house a leaking pipe member is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,926 to Jacobs, which is directed to insulating armatures and/or flange connections of a pipe wherein the escape of contaminants is prevented.
Another example of a device providing containment for liquid carrying equipment is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,577 to Reicin, which discloses a housing surrounding a series of pipes and a leak-proof support bag which seals the pipes from the environment. Access to the pipes may be achieved through a top portion of the bag that then can be sealed to prevent migration of contaminants to the environment.
Yet another example of a device for containing spills is U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,141 to Dalton, which teaches a waste box for containing leaks from a valve assembly. The waste box includes two housing members that are joined to seal the valve from the environment. A drain hole is provided to allow the draining of fluid accumulating in the housing.
While each of these prior art references described above fulfills its intended purpose, none of these inventions disclose the novel invention disclosed herein. Specifically, none of the prior art references provide a convenient means for obtaining access to the leaking pipe member to perform maintenance, nor do these prior art references provide a leak-proof method for transferring the leaking fluid to an environmentally safe container. The present invention also includes other novel features that are more fully discussed below.